Suffering -- Is it our choice? Should it be our choice?
Lately I have been thinking about this whole idea of suffering and still am a good way, I figure, from coming to a settled understanding. Even so, one thought which I think is giving me some appreciation of what it means to suffer is this: suffering is to experience that thing which has a negative impact on our lives (humanly speaking); ie. that which we would NOT NATURALLY CHOOSE for our selves. In the sense that we serve others by putting aside our own personal agenda for ourselves is (I think) one way that we 'suffer' for the sake of others. Jesus suffered even to being executed although he was innocent, so that we may be saved.
Sickness is to suffer that which we would not choose for ourselves. We also see others sick and wish they would not suffer so -- they also would not choose to suffer as they do. So, what can we say to them; how can we encourage them? Suffering brings us all to consider (if we so allow ourselves) our lack of control over our humanity. Naturally we choose a certain direction (with its hopes and dreams) but 'life' or perhaps more truly 'death' gets in the way and upsets our plans. Naturally, we don’t like this or that and wish otherwise.
The Scripture, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" confronts our whole worldview about the possibilities of what real life is about -- a life according to God's will. It is a life that transcends our brokenness but at the same time doesn’t ignore our frailty. That is, it is not just some pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die hope. Rather, God is right here with us and wants us to believe that he is the one who saves -- he saves eternally, and that begins now.
I have taken great comfort in Psalm 41:3, where God sustains us on our sick bed, and at some future time restores us. Our continuing sickness is no barrier to a personal and real relationship with the Lord but offers a unique opportunity to know and experience him that well people cannot know. Furthermore, it shows that the worldly perspective of only finding fulfilment and happiness through perfect wellness and everything going according to 'our plan' is nonsense. What sickness and other forms of suffering can do is push us toward the one who has our life in his hands so that we might come to know him and what he has prepared for those who love him. And so, through our suffering we are comforted by Him who knows what it means to say, "not my will but yours be done."
That's pretty much the direction I am working at in an effort to understand what it means to suffer as a believer -- to put aside our own will so that we might live for Him. And so I ask, should suffering be our choice in service to others? At its core, this is the heart of repentance and obedience. Daniel is right to say that we should pray that God would reveal himself to these our friends who are suffering so that they would turn to him. (Read Dan at http://allthatwasmine.blogspot.com/2007/05/job-is-hard.html ).
Sickness is to suffer that which we would not choose for ourselves. We also see others sick and wish they would not suffer so -- they also would not choose to suffer as they do. So, what can we say to them; how can we encourage them? Suffering brings us all to consider (if we so allow ourselves) our lack of control over our humanity. Naturally we choose a certain direction (with its hopes and dreams) but 'life' or perhaps more truly 'death' gets in the way and upsets our plans. Naturally, we don’t like this or that and wish otherwise.
The Scripture, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" confronts our whole worldview about the possibilities of what real life is about -- a life according to God's will. It is a life that transcends our brokenness but at the same time doesn’t ignore our frailty. That is, it is not just some pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die hope. Rather, God is right here with us and wants us to believe that he is the one who saves -- he saves eternally, and that begins now.
I have taken great comfort in Psalm 41:3, where God sustains us on our sick bed, and at some future time restores us. Our continuing sickness is no barrier to a personal and real relationship with the Lord but offers a unique opportunity to know and experience him that well people cannot know. Furthermore, it shows that the worldly perspective of only finding fulfilment and happiness through perfect wellness and everything going according to 'our plan' is nonsense. What sickness and other forms of suffering can do is push us toward the one who has our life in his hands so that we might come to know him and what he has prepared for those who love him. And so, through our suffering we are comforted by Him who knows what it means to say, "not my will but yours be done."
That's pretty much the direction I am working at in an effort to understand what it means to suffer as a believer -- to put aside our own will so that we might live for Him. And so I ask, should suffering be our choice in service to others? At its core, this is the heart of repentance and obedience. Daniel is right to say that we should pray that God would reveal himself to these our friends who are suffering so that they would turn to him. (Read Dan at http://allthatwasmine.blogspot.com/2007/05/job-is-hard.html ).
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